Economy

Southern University Chancellor James Llorens says he may again request that the college declare a financial emergency because of ongoing budget problems. Partly because of disputes over voluntary faculty furloughs, Llorens tells The Advocate the Southern Board of Supervisors may reconsider the emergency request, called exigency, when board members next meet Oct. 28.

The University of Colorado's Boulder campus — with less than 5 percent of its budget coming from the state — ranks as the lowest funded flagship university in the nation, Chancellor Phil DiStefano said at his annual state-of-the-campus address this morning.

The voice vote was unanimous to endorse the ballot measure, which would raise state income and sales tax rates for five years to provide additional funding for education. The motion was made by Commissioner Jim Polsfut, a Democrat from the 7th Congressional District.

By 2018, 63 percent of all of US jobs will require some form of postsecondary education or training, according to estimates by the Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce. But the United States is only on track to deliver a fraction of this education. Currently, only 38 percent of America’s young adults have a college degree, compared to 58 percent in South Korea.

Bowing to pressure from the governor, the Utah State Board of Regents has rescinded pay hikes it awarded last month to college and university presidents in an effort to bring compensation in line with their out-of-state peers.